A Concord Pastor Comments: Praying 10 minutes today: SATURDAY 9/8

Find a quiet time and place to pray... take a few deep breaths...

be still... and know that God is near...

A word to reflect on:

Happy the people who know you, Lord,
who walk in the radiance of your face...
- Psalm 89

(Before moving on to the reflection below,

spend some quiet time with the scripture verse above...)

I want to be happy, Lord,

   and I want t0 know you better
      and I want your face to shine upon me...

That's what I want, Lord,
   and I know I don't have all of that now,
      at least, not yet...

I want to be happy, Lord,
   but I know I make choices that don't make me happy.
When I turn away from your word and your Spirit's lead,
   when I make decisions out of fear, not faith,
when I fail to trust in your help,
then I walk down lonely paths that leave me alone...

I want to know you better, Lord,
   but so often I'm too busy, too preoccupied,
and don't find time, I don't make the time
         for prayer...

It seems I'm always in too much of a hurry, or too lazy,
   to come to know you better in the stories of the scriptures.
I want to get to know you better
   but too often I don't even come
      when you invite me to your Sunday dinner...

I want the warmth of your face to shine on mine
   and to brighten the path I walk
but sometimes the light of your truth seems too much to bear

and I choose, instead, the shadows of the shortcut
or the easy way out...

Happy the people who know you, Lord,
who walk in the radiance of your face...

The path of gladness is sometimes rocky, Lord,

and it might not head just the way I'd had hoped it would, but
if I learn to know you, Lord, and your Word and truth,

if I watch and listen for your Spirit's help,

then I'll find and know the path that leads me to your peace,

to a joy deeper and more real than I'd imagined...

There are more times in a day than I can count

when I might stop and pray,
when I might read your Word,

when I might grow in knowing you

and as I come to know you I'll grow in your love,

and in the happiness that only you can give...

And as I find my peace in you

so will I find my truth in you and in your Word

and in all the ways you call my heart to yours....

Your grace gives me strength to stand before you, Lord:

to lift my face to yours and bask

in the radiance of your light
as it warms and heals and guides...

In the quiet of my prayer, Lord,

stir my heart to long for a peace I cannot find or give myself...

Lift my heart from grief and give me a hunger

for the happiness that only comes from you...

Give me the wisdom to see where true happiness is
- and where it isn't -
and help me seek out wisdom's joy

as the greatest peace my heart can hold...

In the stillness, Lord, help me lift my face to yours,

to see how you never turn away from me...

Show me how your mercy waits, always,
to heal and reconcile

whatever comes between us...

In these moments of prayer, help me know you

with all my mind and heart and soul:

help me know that you are the way, the truth and the life,

that you are the joy of my heart

and the peace I long for in every grief and loss...

Help me be still in your presence, Lord,

that I might know you

and walk in the radiance of your face...

To ponder and pray over...

What keeps me from getting to know the Lord more deeply?

Am I sometimes tempted to think I know him well enough?

In what ways do I need to know the Lord more intimately?

Where do I seek my happiness? What's the deepest peace I seek?

Do I seek my happiness in God?

What will I ask of the Lord today?

From this prayer time, what word or phrase will I keep with me

to carry through the rest of my day?

(After you spend some time with these questions,

pray the reflection above one more time...)

Here are some tips for praying 10 minutes a day. If you find these daily prayer reminders helpful, please let me know - and share them with others. You'll find an archive of these daily posts here.